Chapter One: These Old Ties That Bond Us
The sun set low in the sky just beyond the darken castle. Harry Potter raised his lit wand towards the sky and motioned a hand forward. A group of men came out of the blackened woods to his side, a long with a few women as well. One of those women was his twenty-four year old daughter Bailee Potter.
"In there." Harry whispered pointing at a giant tower.
The group of people, better known as The Order of the Phoenix, surrounded the castle. Bailee walked towards the back side of the tower and began to climb up the jagged stone wall towards a tiny window. She used her teeth to carry her lit wand and pulled herself up over the stony window ledge. Using one hand to hold on to the window bars, she used her other hand to lower her wand down inside the tower. At the very bottom she recognized a human figure chained against the wall.
"I found him!" Bailee shouted loudly as the group of aurors made a circle around the tower.
She placed her wand in her back pocket and slowly climb down towards the muddy grass. Bailee shivered as she ran quickly towards the entrance of the tower, running smack into her old brother Trent.
"It may be a trap." Trent whispered, leaning closer to the gated entrance.
"Oh get out of my way!" Bailee snapped and ran inside the tower.
As she ran, many thoughts flooded her mind. She thought of her final year at Hogwarts when she first dated Alec Malfoy, and then she recalled the previous year and a half before Alec Malfoy's mysterious disappearance. Alec Malfoy had been in love with Bailee since they were both students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had to leave her however, for an arranged marriage with a woman called Raven Warner. When he was twenty-three Raven divorced him and he went looking for Bailee Potter again. Then he mysteriously disappeared with nothing more than a note saying her had left Bailee and gone back to Raven.
Bailee had been convinced for almost an entire year that he was with Raven, until The Order of the Phoenix got a lead on Alec's father, Draco Malfoy, and found that Alec had been kept prisoner in a castle in Scotland.
Bailee reached the bottom of the tower and almost ran smack into the door leading to the dungeons, which, of course, was locked. She raised her wand and said, "Alohomora!" The door creaked itself open and she ran inside.
Alec was unconscious, hanging limply from his chained wrists. He had grown a shaggy beard while he'd been held captive and his clothes were caked with what looked like dirt and mud.
"Alec," Bailee whispered, shaking his shoulder gently. "Alec, wake up! It's me, Bailee, I've come to get you out of this godforsaken place."
Alec, surfacing upwards into consciousness, heard Bailee's voice whispering to him, and forced his eyes open. He saw her beautiful face in front of his and almost fainted again from sheer ecstasy. "B-Bailes?" he croaked.
"What have they done to you?" Bailee moaned under her breath. "I have to get these chains off you...where do you think the key is?"
Alec tried to croak out a reply but found that he was too weak to talk. Bailee cursed and was about to tell Alec that she would be right back so she could find the key when the dungeon door flung open and three dementors floated in, cornering Bailee, slowly moving towards her.
Bailee's heart suddenly felt as if she'd been stabbed by an icicle. This was the icy cold, paralyzing feeling her father had told her about one time, a long time ago. She started to hear voices in her head, voices from the past, when the past had been cold, grey and uninviting.
"I can't be with you anymore, Bailee...Raven and I are betrothed. We're getting married in a few months."....she heard Trinity screaming as a baby and herself crying along with her newborn's wails...the roars and shrieks of the graphorn as it was getting ready to pounce on her, then Raven's voice cackling: "Alec is mine and always will be mine, no little brats you have by him will ever change that..."
Bailee struggled to keep her mind under control from the dementors who were inching closer and closer to her, their rotten, freezing hands reaching out for her as they got ready to take her soul and any and all happiness she could have ever had...she knew she couldn't fight them off, it was useless to try...she should just give up and swallow herself in misery...
Suddenly she heard a loud, scratchy voice cry out, "Bailee, no!"
Her deluded mind turned to thoughts of Alec and their times together...Alec smiling at her in the warm sunshine, kissing him in the dark on the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts when they'd still been in school, lying in bed with him curled in his arms...
The last scene turned her to thoughts of Trinity, which made her think of Jamie –Trent's wife, as well as Trent himself, her mum and dad, and all her friends and family...all the people who had helped and loved her over the years, who had given her eternal happiness.
Bailee, restored from all these positive thoughts, stood up as straight as possible, took out her wand, and, raising it, cried, "Expecto Patronum!" at the top of her voice.
A silver, shimmery fog emanated from the tip of Bailee's wand, forming itself into the shape of a sleek, muscular panther. It charged itself at the dementors, and one by one they floated out of the dungeon. The last one to exit the dungeon dropped its rusted ring of keys, which clanked to the ground at Bailee's feet. The panther ran out of the dungeon, vanishing as it went.
Bailee grabbed the keys and ran over to Alec, who was drifting in and out of consciousness. She tried every key on the large circular ring until she got to the last key, which unlocked Alec's chains. He collapsed instantly, just as Trent, Jamie and Harry ran into the dungeon. "Bailee, are you all right?" Harry asked. Trent and Jamie ran over to help Bailee with Alec. They started carrying him out of the dungeon.
"Yes I'm fine," Bailee replied, "but Alec's not. we need to get him to the Burrow right away!"
"He can ride on my broom," Jamie said. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't fall off."
Just as they were about to get back on their brooms and head for the Burrow, they heard a deep, cold male voice call out, "Well well, if it isn't Potter and his little family of Mudbloods and Weasels. Taking what's rightfully mine again, are you? Well, we'll just see about this." Malfoy strode up to them arrogantly, whipping out his wand and glaring at Bailee and her family.
"Don't make me hurt you severely, Malfoy," Harry warned him. "Although I hardly think I could ever do as much damage to you as you've done to your own son."
Draco laughed in reply as he stepped closer to Harry, pointing his wand right in his face.
"Come on, then," he taunted, sounding to Harry just as he had when they'd been back in school...all those years and he still hadn't matured. What a surprise. "It's been a long time since our last duel. But this time, I guarantee the results will be a bit different."
"Leave him alone!" Bailee yelled at Malfoy, pointing her own wand at him.
With that, Draco aimed his wand at Harry and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand flew out of his hand and away from everyone standing near him. He swore and looked over his shoulder, leaving himself wide open for another attack from Draco.
But just as Malfoy was about to utter another spell, Nymphadora Tonks, who was part of the group of OOTP members, jumped in front of Harry and yelled, "Stupefy!" Causing Malfoy to flop onto the ground, in a daze and paralyzed.
"Come on, let's get Alec out of here," Bailee said. Jamie and Bailee got on their brooms with Alec and took off into the night sky as fast as they could.
...
"Thanks Grandma." Bailee whispered as Mrs. Weasley Senior wrapped the quilt over Alec's fragile body.
Molly Weasley placed Alec's dirty clothes in a wooden hamper and then turned towards her grand-daughter, "he needs to rest. And when he awakes I'll cook him a big feast and call the mediwizardes so they can help him get his strength back."
"Is it alright if I stay here for a while? I promise not to wake him..." Bailee wanted to know.
"Of course sweetie, of course." Molly smiled and walked out of the bedroom.
Bailee waited until her grandmother was out of the room, before she closed the door so only a tiny crack of light came into the room. Then Bailee pulled up a wooden chair and placed her face in her hands against Alec's bed and began to cry softly to herself. She took one of his hands in hers and gently kissed it. Then she sat back and closed her eyes. Although Alec was safely tucked away in the Burrow, Bailee still feared that worst was yet to come. She was afraid if she'd leave the room he'd be gone, or it would have all been a dream. There were so many things Bailee wanted to tell him when he awoke... that she still loved him for one, and that they had a beautiful baby daughter together.
For a spilt second she was afraid to tell Alec about Trinity. What if he wasn't understanding about it? What if he didn't believe that Trinity was his?
As if to sooth her thoughts, Alec stirred and began to trash in his sleep.
"Bailee... noo... Bailee... don't leave... I still love you..."
For a moment Bailee froze in her chair, and then leaned closer waiting to see if Alec would say anything else.
"I'll never leave you again..." He cried and then rolled over on his side, falling into a quieter sleep.
Bailee sighed, did Alec really mean it? Or was he just delirious from all the horrible events that happened to him over the past year?
Bailee's thoughts were interrupted by her mother, Ginny.
"Bailee?" Ginny whispered, peaking her head through the door, "come downstairs for a minute."
Ginny gingerly shut the door leaving Bailee to whisper goodbye to Alec. Bailee leaned over the four-post bed and gently kissed Alec on the cheek before leaving the room.
Alec awoke seconds later, sitting up with a start, "Bailee?" He looked confused for a moment while he ran his hand against the side of his cheek.
Bailee sighed, stretching her arms as she walked down the long staircase. Her mother was sitting in the living room with her grandmother.
"Your father is at Azkaban prison with the Minister of Magic. Draco won't be bothering anyone for a long time. They have more than twenty guards surrounding his cell." Ginny told her daughter.
"That's great!" Bailee spoke enthusiastically.
"Your father is staying in London tonight at The Leaky Cauldron. I'm going over there soon to join him. We're going to be spending the next couple of days at the Ministry going over Draco's hearing."
"Alright Mum..." Bailee responded.
Ginny smiled and kissed the top of her daughter's head, "your father and I are proud of you."
"Thanks Mum, that really means a lot." Bailee spoke truthfully.
Ginny grabbed her purse from the table and then turned towards her own mother, "just drop a note if you need anything, yeah?"
"Don't worry dear, we'll be fine." Molly responded.
Bailee nodded in agreement, as Ginny proceeded to the fireplace. Then Bailee turned towards her grandmother and smiled softly.
"I'm going to go check on Trinity, why don't you go lay down?" Molly spoke.
"I'm alright Grandma." Bailee replied.
Molly smiled when she returned from the new nursery, to find Bailee fast asleep on the couch. She placed a home-made afghan on Bailee and then dimmed the candles with her wand. She turned and glanced at her grand-daughter one last time before proceeding up the stairs.
Alec awoke early the next morning, to find himself in a strange bed, in an unfamiliar bedroom. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then slowly rose to his feet. When he looked down, he realized he was in a pair of very old Pj's and his other, tatty clothes were nowhere to be found. Alec walked over to the dresser and picked up a golden picture frame. It was of Bailee's mother, Ginny and her six older brothers when they were younger. Alec felt relief come over him. He was in the Burrow, he was safe.
Moments later Alec wandered downstairs to smell of cooking food. He smiled when he saw Bailee fast asleep on the living room couch.
"Good morning!" Molly greeted Alec brightly.
"Come into the kitchen and have some breakfast! I know you're famished!" She spoke.
"Thank you." Alec nodded.
He slowly followed the plump witch into the kitchen and sat down at the picnic table, which had many different foods on it. Alec chose from a varity of pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast, juice. Enough food fit for a king, or a queen.
"After breakfast I am having a mediwizard come and take a look at you. I hope that's alright." Molly spoke turning way from the oven.
Alec nodded, swallowing bits of toast.
"Good, good." Molly smiled wiping her hands on her apron.
"I'm going to check on-"she paused, "I'm going upstairs for a moment, I'll be back briefly."
"Alright Mrs. Weasley."
Molly wandered into the living room and leaned over Bailee, "I'm having Jamie and Trent watch Trinity for today." She whispered before walking upstairs to the nursery.
Bailee rolled over, "mmm...fine."
Alec stood up, wiping the bread crumbs off of his checkered shirt. Then he wandered into the living room towards the sleeping Bailee. He leaned over her and drew in a deep breath, if it was possible Bailee had been more beautiful than he remembered. He smiled as he ran his rough hand along her soft cheek. Bailee seemed a lot more pale than Alec remembered her.
"Alright, that's taken care of..." Molly clapped her hands as she walked down the stairs.
"Alec would you like to change before the mediwizardes comes?"
"I'd like to shower, and, uh a bit of a shave if that's alright." Alec responded turning towards Mrs. Weasley.
"Perfectly."
When Alec came downstairs for a second time, he found that Bailee had left. He sighed and shook his head in disappointment as he sat down on the couch so the mediwizard could heal his cuts and bruises. As he laid perfectly still, he realized that one thing the mediwizard could never heal was his heart.